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What's a rookie manager to do? Faced with new responsibilities, and in need of quick, dependable guidance, novice managers can't afford to learn by trial and error. The First-Time Manager is the answer, dispensing the bottom-line wisdom they need to succeed. A true management classic, the book covers essential topics such as hiring and firing, leadership, motivation, managing time, dealing with superiors, and much more. Written in an inviting and accessible style, the revised sixth edition includes new material on increasing employee engagement, encouraging innovation and initiative, helping team members optimize their talents, improving outcomes, and distinguishing oneself as a leader. Packed with immediately usable insight on everything from building a team environment to conducting performance appraisals, The First-Time Manager remains the ultimate guide for anyone starting his or her career in management.

Chapter 1

The Road to Management

There are many different ways that individuals become managers.

Unfortunately, many companies don’t go through a very thorough process

in choosing those who will be moved into a managerial position. Often

the judgment is based solely on how well the person is performing in his or

her current position. The best individual contributor doesn’t always make

the best manager, although many companies still make the choice on that

basis. The theory is that successful past performance is the best indicator

of future success. However, management skills are very different from the

skills one needs to succeed as an individual contributor.

So the fact that an employee is a good performer, even though he or she

demonstrates a pattern of success, doesn’t necessarily mean the person will

be a successful manager. Being a manager requires skills beyond those of

being an excellent technician. Managers need to focus on people, not just

tasks. They need to rely on others, not just be self-reliant. Managers are al-

so team-oriented and have a broad focus, whereas nonmanagers succeed

by having a narrow focus and being detail-oriented. In many ways, transi-

tioning from the role of an individual contributor to a manager is similar to the

difference between being a technician and being an artist. The manager is

an artist because management is often nuanced and subjective. It involves a

different mindset.

Management Is Not for Everyone

Some companies have management-training programs. These programs

vary from excellent to horrible. Too often, the program is given to people

who already have been in managerial positions for a number of years. Even

experienced managers periodically should be given refresher courses in

management style and techniques. If a training program has any merit,

however, it should be given to individuals who are being considered for

management positions. The training program will not only help them avoid

mistakes, it also gives trainees the opportunity to see whether they will be

comfortable leading others. A management training program that helps

potential managers decide that they are not suited for management has

done both the prospective managers and the organization they are a part of

a great favor.

Unfortunately, far too many organizations still use the ‘‘ sink or swim ’’

method of management training. All employees who move into supervisory

positions must figure it out on their own. This method assumes that everyone

intuitively knows how to manage. They don’t. Managing people is crucial

to the success of any organization; but in too many cases, it is left to

chance. Anyone who has worked for any length of time has observed situa-

tions where a promotion didn’t work out and the person asked for the old

job back. The well-known saying, ‘‘Be careful what you wish for, because

you just might get it’’ comes to mind. In many companies, the opportunities

for promotion are limited if you don’t go into management. As a result,

some people go into management who shouldn’t be there—and they

wouldn’t want to be in management if other opportunities existed for salary

increases and promotion.

A series of management seminars was conducted for one company that

used an enlightened approach to the problem of moving the wrong people

into management. Everyone under potential consideration for a first-line

management position was invited to attend an all-day seminar on what is

involved in the management of people. Included were some simple but typi-

cal management problems. When these candidates were invited to attend,

they were told by the company, ‘‘If after attending this seminar you decide

that the management of people is not something you want to do, just say

so. That decision will in no way affect other nonmanagement promotion

possibilities or future salary decisions in your current position.’’

Approximately five hundred people attended these seminars, and

approximately twenty percent decided they did not want to move into man-

agement. After getting a brief taste of management, approximately one hun-

dred people knew they would not make good managers, but they were still

valuable employees. Far too many people accept management promotions

because they feel (often rightly so) that they will be dead-ended if they re-

The Omnipotent One

Some people believe that if you want something done right, you’d better do

it yourself. People with this attitude rarely make good leaders or managers

because they have difficulty delegating responsibility. Everyone has seen

these people: They delegate only those trivial tasks that anyone could per-

form, and anything meaningful they keep for themselves. As a result, they

work evenings and weekends and take a briefcase home as well. There is

nothing wrong with working overtime. Most people occasionally must

devote some extra time to the job, but those who follow this pattern as a

way of life are poor managers. They have so little faith in their team mem-

bers that they trust them with only trivial tasks. What they are really saying

is that they don’t know how to properly train their people.

There is often a staff turnover problem in a team with this kind of manager.

The employees are usually more qualified than the ‘‘omnipotent one’’

believes and they soon tire of handling only trivia.

You probably know of an omnipotent one in your own organization. It

is a problem if you’re working for one, because you’ll have a difficult time

being promoted. Caught up in your impossible situation, you’re not given

anything important to do. As a result, you never get a chance to demonstrate